


Fear The Dead

by KatieGrimes, LostAtBay, WolfOfMiracles



Category: The Walking Dead (TV)
Genre: Baby Cams, Blood, Carl can talk to the dead, Carl talks to the dead to protected who he loves, Demons, Do You Like Horror?, Enid faints a lot, Enid is hella smart, F/F, F/M, Fear, Ghosts, Horror, Judith can see them too, M/M, No One Belives Carl At First, OOC, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Pictures, Scares start slow, Scary, There Are Pictures!, There are still Walkers, This will take a twist you won't expect, You Have Been Warned, as in: all kinds of the dead, you are warned
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-08-15
Updated: 2019-08-19
Packaged: 2020-09-01 03:45:07
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 5
Words: 7,571
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20251639
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatieGrimes/pseuds/KatieGrimes, https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostAtBay/pseuds/LostAtBay, https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfOfMiracles/pseuds/WolfOfMiracles
Summary: This can be scary for some viewers. Viewer discretion is advised. ;)





	1. The First Fear

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Carl can see them. Judith can too, and Carl knows that. Everyone thinks that Judith just has an imaginary friend, like kids her age do, and that Carl is just going crazy. He's not, and he knows it. And he knows what Judith is seeing is not her imagination. But neither of them can prove it to the rest. But by the time they do, it is too late.
> 
> (AN: Every once in a while during a chapter there will be a photo. None of the photos are mine. I will keep them as less gruesome as possible, I promise. If this is not your cup of tea, please leave. You have been warned; this is scary.)

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> There are going to be pictures, but I'll try my best to make them not TOO scary.
> 
> None of the pictures are mine.
> 
> I hope you enjoy (and not have nightmares)!

Just to get you loosened up a bit (photo still not mine): Let's get started with the story!

Oh great. There it is again. That weird shadow in the corner. And I have zero urge to go see what it is. _Sigh._ No point anyway. Rather not make people think I'm still crazy.

It started about a year ago. I was just feeding Judith and then she started to giggle at something behind me.

"What is it?" I asked.

"She wooks funny!" (She was still in that l's-as-w's stage). I was confused and I turned around to see what she was talking about.

What I saw made me scream and drop the spoon I was using to feed Judith. I can't explain now what it looked like, but imagine this: a person the shape of a woman about five feet tall, so pretty short. Scraggly dark brown hair down to her waist. In a blue dress that has been dulled and has blood stains near the bottom of it. You can't see her face as her hair was in the way. I swear there was something else I am missing, that I had the hardest time explaining, but I forgot. Anyway, back to the story.

I quickly picked up Judith and ran out of the house and right into my dad who was about to come in.

"Dad, please!" I begged. "Don't go in there!"

"Why not?" he asked.

"There is this some type of monster… or something." I told my dad what I saw and the more I spoke, the more I noticed that I sounded crazy.

"You sure you saw that?" My dad looked at me with a worried look. Hell, I would be worried too.

"Yes", I said, just barely believing my own damn self. Dad hesitated, but didn't say anything.

"How about I take a look," he finally said, breaking the silence after a minute or so. I didn't want him to, but I let him pass anyway.

Long story short, he went in the house, I was still carrying Judith, he didn't find anything, blah blah blah. And now, we're here.

So right now I am trying my best to ignore the shadow slowly creeping up on me. Easy right? _wrong_. It is one of the most hardest things in the world. Until Negan started to bang on the gates. Great. Now I'm gonna have to pretend I don't see anything on front of Negan, mostly because he doesn't even know I have this problem. So fucking great.


	2. Fear Either Protects You, Or Hurts You

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Negan is here. Carl tries his best to keep the secret that he sees more than he should, but Negan soon enough finds out. And his reaction is not something Carl had expected to see…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here is something cute: :)  
  
([LostAtBay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostAtBay) <3)

Let's just say I hate Negan. If that wasn't obvious already. He can be an asshole at times, though really, he might just be trying to look tough on front of his guys. Yeah. That might be it.

I walked out of the house, still ignoring the shadow, and into the world of Negan.

"Well, hello there, kid," he said with a huge grin. "How are you doing on this lovely day?"

_He_ was one of the only ones who thought this day was great. But I didn't say that, even though I really wanted to.

"Fine," I mumbled, looking back at the house to see if anything followed me. And as sure as the sun, there it was. In the broad daylight with nothing to worry about. I hate my life.

"Fine? Just…_fine_? There is no way anyone can just be fucking _fine_. Try that again. Either you are good, really good, or just fucking bad. Choose one." I hate Negan even more.

"Good," I said.

"Now I just think you are fucking lying." Negan raised his eyebrow and pointed his stupid baseball bat at me. "Don't you go ruining this for fucking everybody 'cause this day is fucking beautiful."

I glared at him for a nice long while until I finally said, "Whatever," and went to walk around him.

Negan put out his arm to stop me. _What does he want now?_

"I'm not gonna be dealing with this fucking attitude all fucking day, am I?" I couldn't help but feel a little guilty because he sounded a lot like my dad when he doesn't like how I'm acting. Apart from all the swearing, of course.

"Um…no?" I stammered.

"Is that a question or an answer?"

"An answer."

"Good. When I see you again you better be in a better fucking mood 'cause I've already had enough of this." Negan looked all smug because he was able to find a soft spot in me.

I seriously hate that guy. I know, I've already said that plenty of times but you just can't _not_ hate him. Can you? If you can, all faith to you, my friend. Or not friend. Whatever.

You can't blame me anyway. I mean, if you had someone sound exactly like one or more of your parents or guardians, you would not be able to help yourself either. And if you can, then you are most likely a troublemaker by the sound of it. Thumbs up to you, I guess.

Anyway, Negan finally let me pass and I fast walked away from him.

While doing that I noticed I wasn't alone. Something followed me. Scaring the fuck out of me in the process. It was there, in front of me, then it was gone. It scared me enough that I skid to a quick stop, resulting in me toppling backwards.

"Holy shit are you okay?" Negan rushed to my side. Unfortunately, so did everyone else who saw me fall.

"What the fuck just happened?" Negan asked. I think I just saw a glint of worry in his eyes. Nah, I'm probably just seeing things.

"There…there was…" I tried to explain what I just saw but all I could muster was, "There was this woman with a surgical mask on!"

Everyone stared at me as if I was loosing my mind. Maybe I was. If so, then it must be genetic as Judith would be too. It probably would have come from my mom's side then. That would explain some things….

"What's going on here?" My dad pushed his way forward through the crowd (yes, there was a crowd. it is not every day you see Carl Grimes colapse out of nowhere for what seems like no reason). "Carl? What are you doing on the ground?"

"He was walking then he all of a sudden just fucking fell down," Negan said, answering for me. "He claims he saw a woman wearing a surgical mask."

"I actually did!" I objected. Then regretted it.

"Carl, what have I told you about this?" Dad scolded me.

"I know but-"

"Enough with the bullshit for once!" My dad was seriously annoyed. I couldn't blame him.

"Whoa, whoa, Rick. Calm the fuck down, will ya'?" And what is Negan doing defending me? This day has gotten even weirder. "The kid just had a hard fall, you need to fucking chill. How long has this been going on, anyway?"

"About a year by now," Dad replied. "He started seeing things out of nowhere, almost every day." Actually, it was every day, but I made sure he didn't know that. Only one person knows that I do. And speaking of, she seems to have found us. How could you not? There is a fucking crowd!

"Actually, he's been seeing them every day," Enid said, correcting my dad. I have to say, I am not impressed with her right now. "He told me."

"Enid!" I hissed, but it was too late. The truth was out.

"Hahaaa, your girlfriend just fucking snitched you," Negan chuckled. I guess only sometimes he has humor that is good.

I glared at him for the second time of the day. "She is not my girlfriend," I snapped. Though, I have to admit, I would love her to be. I mean, when you get to know her she's funny, smart, calm, and unbelievably cute.

"Yeah," Negan said, sounding like he doesn't believe me. "She definitely fucking is not."

"But guys," Enid jumped in, "don't you see? Some of the things he explains that he sees are connected to real life things. Not everything, but some things. Maybe he is seeing these things because he has seen them before in the past. Something could have triggered them."

See? Smart. But I'm not totally sure about that exactly because (no surprise here) _Judith can see them too._

"Can we go somewhere that is not here with this fucking annoying crowd and Carl just lying on the fucking ground?" Negan asked.

Dad sighed. "Fine. Let's go in the house and talk this through. Enid, since you have an idea, you're coming."

Enid blinked as if she had something in her eye. She wasn't used to being one of the main part of things. Four words, Enid: Get used to it.

"Can I fucking come with you people? I am genuinely curious." Negan stood up and let out his hand to me. I grabbed it and pushed myself up off the ground.

I noticed he still had his baseball bat in one hand during all this. Is his hand, like, glued there or something?

"Okay, you can come too," Dad agreed, still not happy about it. "Let's go."

Enid rushed away as the crowd started to shimmer, grabbing her backback and jogging towards us. "Just need this," she said. That's confusing, but fine.

We walked to our (well, me and Dad's) house. Don't think I have forgotten about the shadow. It seemed to have disappeared when the crowd started to form.

"What do you have in store for us, Enid?" Dad asked.

"Just some clues," she replied, and that was that.


	3. Now This Is Where Things Get Scary…

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The four of them sit down at the dining room table to talk. Enid proves some points and what is that she has in her backback…?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I would like to warn you, this is where it does get kinda scary. So, if you are not so sure, try scrolling down slowly, just in case.
> 
> *Just a reminder, none of these photos are mine. All credit goes to the people who made (and drew) them. (For the people who made them: good job you guys! You did swell!)*
> 
> And, of course, the usual picture suggested by Vanessa (LostAtBay) to get us started:  


We had just sat down at the tabel with Enid across from me and Negan at my left and Dad at my right. Then, we started to talk.

"Enid," my dad started. "As you were saying."

"Um, yeah." She sat up straighter and started to explain more.

"As you probably know, there was this thing called the Internet. Unless an adult set up parental controls, a person would be almost limitless to what they can find. The possibility of Carl finding something, even on accident, that would be disturbing is very likely. And with his young brain, very traumatizing.

"An example I can give you of something connected to real life things is quite recent; just a bit ago, actually. Carl, what did you say you saw?"

"A woman wearing a surgical mask," I replied.

"Let me guess. Long black hair, a bit strange eyes, ring a bell?"

"I only saw it for a split second, but yeah, I think so."

"Okay, get to the fucking point already," Negan sighed, leaning back and crossing his arms.

Enid also sighed. "You are impatient." I could tell she was getting confident in herself as she naturally wouldn't say that to his face.

"Anyway," she continued, "it sounds like you just saw Kuchisake-Onna."

"Um…_what_?" Dad asked.

"Kuchisake-Onna. The slit-mouthed woman?" Enid looked around as if she expected one of us to say, "Oh yeah, I know what you mean!" Yeah. Not happening.

She sighed. "Okay. Kuchisake-Onna is from a Japanese urban legend. Another term for her is the slit-mouthed woman. More about that story later.

"By what you told us, Carl, it seems like that is the person you saw. What could have happened is that when you were young, you could've ran into an article or post about her that caused your brain to recognize it. Either it was traumatizing enough, or you just didn't care, so you forgot it. But even when you have forgotten it, you brain can recognize it and now thinks it is seeing it.

"It is not your fault that your brain is acting like this. It is uncontrollable. To a limit, of course. But, unfortunately, you might just need a therapist to fix that."

Whoa. She has never talked that much at once, not even to me.

"So your saying we can't fix it," Dad suggested.

Enid nodded. "Pretty much. Unless you get a therapist."

"But we don't have any," Dad said.

"Exactly," she agreed.

"We do," Negan jumped in.

We just sat there, staring at him until Enid said in a mocking voice, "Well, of course you do, Negan the king of all he sees." Do I know this girl? We all laughed. Well, except for Negan. 

"I mean it. We fucking do. Get used to it."

"Any ways we can make an appointment," Dad asked through gritted teeth. He really didn't like how we need Negan for something. Nor did I, really. I don't think any of us does.

"Sure. I will talk to him and we'll fucking see how we do," Negan answered, wearing a grin on his face knowing what just happened.

Enid seemed to have drifted off for a moment, but then snapped back to attention. "I remember now. There was something I wanted to show you." She leaned down and grabbed her backpack and started to look through it.

I'm telling you, that girl and her backpack. She carries it around everywhere.

"Here it is." She took something that looked like a small easel out. "I just want to warn you, this might be a bit gruesome. I went through Carl's bedroom-"

"You _what_?" I asked in shock.

"I was trying to find some clues about why you are seeing things. I wanted to get in your head.

"Anyway, I was going through his bedroom and I saw this." She showed the the painting that was on the easel and we all gasped at the sight of it. I started to feel woozy and I quickly held the edges of the table hard to keep myself from fainting.

"That was in my room?" I whispered.

"Yeah," Enid replied. "I almost screamed when I saw it."

The photo was of this creature with blood everywhere. It obviously wasn't human or anything I have ever seen before. I can't explain it much, so I'll show you.

**[Scroll down slowly if not sure. It shouldn't be _too_ bad]**

"Sorry, but I would never draw, or paint, anything like that," I said, my voice wavering.

"Maybe not this, but _this_." She took out another drawing. Let's just say I'm surprised that I didn't actually faint at that moment, right there on front of my dad, Negan, and the girl I have a huge crush on.

"Nope," I said. "Not that either."

"Carl…I _watched_ you."

That was when I fainted.

**…**

When I woke up the first thing I saw was Enid's beautiful face. I love her face. So smooth, calm, pretty, beautiful, even more beautiful, elegant, the best, so-

"He's finally waking the fuck up," Negan said, breaking the beautiful connection I had with Enid's face.

"Yeah, yeah, whatever," I mumbled, sitting up. I looked around and saw that I was in my bedroom.

"Your daddy had to carry you up here after you passed out," Negan explained. "It was fucking great." I hate him. Have I told you that already?

"I didn't draw that," I said suddenly, turning towards Enid. "When the hell did you see me?"

"Don't you remember? I asked you what you were drawing, then you showed me that. Then, I asked you why you were drawing it, and you said, 'it told me to'. You don't remember that?" Enid asked.

"Hell no, I don't remember that!"

"See? I don't want to upset you, but you need help. This is all just your imagination." Enid looked sympathetically at me.

"No! I'm telling you, I'm not imagining things!" I looked at all of them with pleading eyes. Well, just eye.

"Carl…please just accept help," Dad pleaded with me.

"No, no, _no_! This is not my imagination! Judith can see them too!" I was in total denial with the whole thing. I was not imagining anything. _You_ believe me, reader, right?

"Carl-" Enid started, but I jumped up and ran out my bedroom door, down the stairs and out of the house.

But I kinda wished I didn't because I saw that woman, Kuci-whatever. You know, the slit-mouthed woman. Her name would make sense as to why she keeps that mask on.

By the time I had fully acknowledged her, we had already met at the sidewalk on front of my house.

_"Watashi, kirei?"_ she asked through the mask.

"What?" I asked. She must've been speaking Japanese or something 'cause I didn't understand her one bit.

"Am I beautiful?" she asked again.

"Carl!" I heard Enid call from behind me. I turned and saw that Dad, Negan, and Enid had come out of the house. "Don't answer that!"

"You can see her too?" I called back. Well, not really called. She was right there.

"Am I beautiful?" the slit-mouthed woman asked again, a little more sternly this time. I noticed that she had a large pair of scissors in her hand. I knew I didn't want to piss her off.

"Um…," I hesitated. "Yes. Yes you are."

"_No!_" Enid screamed.

But I didn't have time to look back as the woman started to slowly take off her mask. I didn't want to see, but I was intrigued and couldn't look away.

_"Kore demo?_ Even now?" she asked.

"Carl, please!" Enid begged. I looked back and saw that Dad and Negan had gone not quite onto the sidewalk, but close enough to me on each side that they could quickly grab me and pull me away if needed. Enid was just left on the porch, but she soon moved forward and came to the left of me, looking worried as hell.

I looked back at the woman, debating whether to answer or not.

I stared at the slits in her mouth, forming an idea. "Yes," I replied. "You are so beautiful."

The woman's hand tightened on the scissors and I had a very good idea on what she wanted to do next.

"Carl-" Enid started, but it was too late. The woman had already lunged at me, scissors ready

"Am _I_ beautiful?" I quickly asked her before she got to me. She froze, probably wondering what I just asked and/or why I asked that.

"Yes," she whispered in a husky voice. I took another step towards her so we were only inches apart. Then, I reached behind my head and started to take off my bandage.

When it was all the way off I flicked the access hair away so she can see it better. "What about now?" I asked her softly. She reached up with her free hand and brushed against my socket. She kept doing that for a bit and I had to force myself to stand still and let her and not run away.

"Yes," she whispered again. When she dropped her hand, I raised mine up and traced my fingers along the slits in her mouth. She froze when I touched her, but I believe I did too so it was only fair.

"The scars may not be pretty," I started softly, "but that doesn't define who we are. _We_ do. No matter how we look, how we live, how we dress…it doesn't matter. What matters is who we are on the inside, not the outside." I took a deep breath after that, waiting for her response. We stared at each other for a while, seeing who would do what next.

I dropped my hand and she dropped her scissors and put both her hands on my face, some of her fingers brushing against my socket again. "Thank you," she whispered. I smiled a little and she let me go.

When she did, Enid grabbed my arm and and jerked me back towards her. I'm telling you, Enid was almost petrified.

"Thank you," the woman said again. Then, she faded off and soon we couldn't see her anymore.

I turned towards everyone and said, "I told you! I knew I wasn't imagining things!" But the only "response" I got was Dad and Negan staying frozen, and Enid fainting.

I caught her, thank goodness. It would have been romantic but when I looked up, I noticed that the place was…empty. "Where is everyone?" I asked, mostly to myself. 

"No one's here," Negan finally said quietly. I adjusted myself and put Enid's head on my lap, looking for a sign of anyone else.

_There!_ I heard a child crying in the distance and I recognized the sound. Judith.

Dad must've heard it too, because he then snapped out of his trace and ran towards the sound.

A while later, Dad came back holding a crying Judith in his arms, trying to calm her down. Her cries could've woken Enid 'cause then her eyes fluttered open. I looked down at her and smiled, seeing how ironic it was with how the roles were reversed. She smiled back at me and lifted herself up off the ground.

I got up too and walked towards Dad and Judith. "What should we do now?" I asked Dad.

"There is no one else here. I don't know what to do," Dad admitted. I sighed and crossed my arms, turned towards Negan.

"And I guess we we are stuck with you," I told him.

"Fucking right you are," he replied. I rolled my eye and turned back around and took Judith in my arms, soothing her until she stopped crying.

"I don't know how you do it," Dad commented. I smiled at him.

"Um, guys," Enid objected. "We are, like, trapped in an empty world or something."

"Yeah," Negan agreed. "We need a fucking battle plan."

"Don't curse on front of the child," I scolded Negan.

"Child's gonna fucking hear it soon enough anyway," Negan grunted.

"_Guys_!" Enid yelled again. "We've got company!"

We all turned and looked to see who she meant.

It was just one of the best women in this whole entire fucking world:

Michonne.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> [KatieGrimes](https://archiveofourown.org/users/KatieGrimes)-Writer (writes the story)
> 
> [WolfOfMiracles](https://archiveofourown.org/users/WolfOfMiracles)-Writer (writes the story)
> 
> [LostAtBay](https://archiveofourown.org/users/LostAtBay)-Image Producer (finds and inserts the images)
> 
> *You can learn more about the Japanese urban legend Kuchisake-onna or "The Slit-Mouthed Woman" [HERE](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kuchisake-onna)
> 
> I hope you've enjoyed this so far! Tell us your thoughts about it! :)


	4. Deep Into The Night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Night falls. Carl senses something in the shadows…

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> *Disturbing photos ahead!*
> 
> [ (*v*) <3 ]

"It's starting to get dark," Michonne pointed out. "We should get to bed. Tomorrow we have to find a way to get out of this mess."

We all wrapped up what we were doing. I was reading a book, Negan was spinning his baseball bat on the table on one end (the end without the spikes), Dad was counting bullets in case we needed them, Enid was going through a huge book of urban legends, and Michonne was rocking Judith to sleep.

"Enid, where do you want to sleep?" Dad asked.

"On the living room couch. It's closer to the knives," she replied. Good point, but I wanted her my my room. Just so I won't be alone.

"There's a guest room for you, Negan," Dad suggested.Negan grunted and went to find the room, bat in hand.

I sighed. "'Night," I called. "Remember to put up Judith's baby cam!" Then I went up the stairs and into my room.

I quickly got to bed and then noticed that I still had the device that sees into Judith's room through the baby cam. Well, I guess I have that, then.

I turned it on then got comfortable on my bed, ready to fall asleep and make it through the night.

Suddenly, I heard a strange creaking sound coming from the monitor and I looked up, only to see a girl looking into the camera, staring. Just…staring.

I quickly sat up and turned on my light and stared right back at the girl. I hoped and prayed that she couldn't see me, but I'm pretty sure that this is only a one-way camera. I hope.

That girl definitely wasn't Judith, but why she was in Judith's room, I had no idea. I don't even know who this girl is!

Whoever it is, I could not go into that room. Nope. Definitely not happening.

I looked away for a moment, wanting to break the stare. Then, when I was ready, I looked back at it. The girl was gone and the camera had shifted into a different place. Like someone picked it up and moved it. This time, something else very creepy happened.

This strange figure started to move towards Judith's crib. It leaned forward and looked into it. I didn't want it to even touch Judith, but I couldn't move from the spot I was sitting on. I just couldn't get off my bed.

The figure then suddenly jerked its head towards the monitor. I gave a yell and jerked back away from it, causing me to almost fall off my bed.

It, too, started to stare at me through the camera as if it could see me through the monitor. I slowly crawled back, off my bed, and away from the monitor. I didn't want to mess with this shit anymore, even though I knew that I had no choice but to anyway.

I rushed towards the monitor and quickly shut if off. But as soon as I did that, the power went out and I was left in darkness. "Shit," I mumbled, and went to go check on Judith. Now that I can move, I'm gonna check on her, evil creature or not. She is _my_ baby sister and I's _never_ let anyone hurt her, or keep her away from me.

I slowly opened the door and quietly went out into the hall. I went towards my sister's room, but I froze when I heard, "Mommy…"

I listened as hard as I could, and sure enough, there it was again.

"Mommy…mommy where are you…?" It was not Judith, and it came from downstairs. I didn't know what to do. Just stay and wait, or keep going to Judith? Well, now that I thought that, Judith of course.

I carefully took a step forward but I had to freeze again because ahead of me, there was a girl. A little girl, maybe the age of seven or eight. She looked, well, kinda bad I guess I could say. Not ugly, but not your average girl. Not that it matters much anyway. Right now, all that matters is that _there is this creepy girl in my house right across from me!_

"Mommy," she whined.

I gathered up my courage. "Hey," I said, taking a step towards her. "What's wrong?"

"Can you help me find my mommy?" she asked me.

"Sure," I replied. "What does she look like?"

"She's only a little bit smaller than you," the girl said. "I know she's around here."

"Okay," i said. "Here, take my hand and we'll go look for her together." I could barely see her, but I saw her lift up her hand and she walked slowly towards me. When she reached me, I took her hand and we walked downstairs. In truth I had no idea where the girl's mother was. I had no idea if we were going in the right direction or not.

"What's your name?" I asked her.

"Sarah," she said. "But I know what your name is." Creepy as fuck really, but fine.

"Oh really?" I replied. "What is it then?"

"Carl," she responded. "I like to play with Judith sometimes." Ah, that will explain it.

"I see."

"MOOOMMMYYYY!!!!" she suddenly screamed. Then, out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement, then a person appeared. It was the person I saw on the monitor!

"Yay! Mommy!" Sarah let go of my hand and ran towards her mother. I couldn't help but smile. That was now the second spirit or whatever that I helped in not even 24 hours. Maybe this is why I can see them. It's to help.

"Thank you so much," the mother said to me. "I promise you, I will find a way to repay you."

"It's fine," I said. "You don't have to give me anything."

"Oh, I insist." Then, the mother faded off with her daughter before I could say anything and I was left with darkness. Well, I guess the mother was very urgent on repaying me. I mean, I'm not complaining, but I could do without.

I head upstairs to check on Judith, then go back to my room as quietly as possible, still thinking about the little girl and what her mother said.

_"I promise you, I will find a way to repay you."_

I wonder what she's going to do and slip back under my covers. I turn the moniter back on and turn towards it so I can see it while I'm lying down.

"Good night, Judith," I whisper, relaxing slightly more.

_"You can't escape. I will find you…"_ I heard a deep echoing voice that sounded like it was coming from all around my room. I stayed still, hoping nothing will happen.

Then, a voice sounding like a little girl whispering into my ear, _"You can never escape. You are stuck here…**forever**"_.

Fear started to rise in me, gluing me to the bed. I kept my eye on the monitor, watching Judith's chest rise and fall. I had adjusted the camera when I checked on her.

_"Tomorrow is the last day. One of you will die tomorrow night and there is no escaping the evil within. Night after night, you will all perish…"_

I hope what was said wasn't true because, well, that would just fucking suck. I'll need to tell them about this tomorrow….

**…**

"Good fucking morning, Carl. 'Bout time you fucking wake up," Negan said, greeting me as I came down the stairs and into the dining room.

"Well, guess what? I couldn't sleep, asshole," I snapped back.

"Carl!" Dad scolded. I rolled my eye and went to sit down. "Aren't you forgetting something?" Dad asked me.

"I don't think so," I replied. Dad motioned towards his eye and I knew what he meant. "I don't want to put on a bandage, so I won't." Dad sighed and kept eating his breakfast.

In all honesty, I _did_ want to put on a bandage, but now that Dad had reminded me to do so, I just can't let him boss me around like that. Well, now that I think about it, it's kinda childish to think that. Whatever.

I remembered that I needed to tell everyone something, but I only saw Dad, Michonne (who was feeding Judith), and Negan. "Where's Enid?" I asked looking around for her.

"She's out back doing who-the-fuck-knows-what in her notebook," Negan (surprisingly) answered. "Your girlfriend is fucking smart, Carl, I'll give you that much."

I got back up and went to go find her. She was on the back porch, doing something in her notebook.

"Hey," she said, looking up at me. "What's up?"

"What are you doing?"

"I'm trying to put down all the clues we have so far about this so we can find a way to stop this. Permanently."

"Well, I have to tell you guys something, and it might help. Come in." I turned around and went back inside. The rest of them were already sat down at the table, waiting for me.

I sat down in the chair I was in before as Enid came in with her notebook and her pen. She sat down, getting ready to write notes.

"Last night," I started, "after, uh, some things happened, I heard this voice. It said something about one of us dying tonight. And maybe even every other night also, I don't know." I waited and watched their reactions. Michonne and Negan froze, Dad choked on his eggs that he was eating, and Enid dropped her pen.

"Who the fuck is gonna be dyin' tonight?" Negan asked. I shrugged.

"I think that's kind of the point; we aren't supposed to know." I looked at Enid to see if she had any ideas.

"It's the fear," she said slowly. "They-whoever "they" is- wants us to feel fear. It gives them an advantage." 

"But why?" Michonne asked.

"I don't know," Enid whispered. I could see the fear in her eyes as she said that. "Anything could happen."

Then we heard a chill scream coming from outside the house and we all jumped up to see what was going on.

"Wait!" I yelled. "Someone has to stay with Judith!" We all stood there for a second before Enid said, "I'll stay."

The rest of us ran outside only to be confronted by…another small group?

One of the women was being attacked by, the one and only, slit-mouthed woman.

"Hey!" I called out to her. "Kuchisake-onna! What do you think you're doing?"

Kuchisake-onna turned her head towards me and said, "She. Said. _No!_" I shook my head and sighed.

"Get off of her," I told the spirit. She growled but got off the woman. "Thank you."

The woman scrambled backwards towards her group and away from the thing that attacked her. Kuchisake-onna walked towards me and put her hand (the one that was not carrying huge scissors) on my right cheek, thumb brushing the bottom of my socket. I mean, I don't know why she does that, but it's kinda weird.

She then faded off, once again, and we were left alone with the new group.

"Who the hell are you?" Dad asked them, walking until he was next to me, Michonne and Negan following lead.

"We should say the same to you," one of the guys said. He was pretty huge. Not chubby but…bulky. He carried a rifle and I counted four knives on him. "And how the fuck was the kid able to _not_ get attacked by that fucking devil?"

"She's not a devil!" I yelled at them. "She is just a hurting spirit, leave her alone!"

"Whoa, kid. Protective much?"

"Enough," Dad ordered. "Who are you guys?"

"We," the guy said, gesturing to him and the rest of his people, "are the Spirit Catchers."

"So…you fucking catch spirits?" Negan asked gruffly.

"Only the bad ones," the guy answered.

"What is your name?" Michonne asked. "Who is the leader?"

"My name is Brad and I am the leader. What about you guys?" Huh. Brad the Spirit Catcher. I'm gonna be having fun with that for a while.

"My name is Rick Grimes," my Dad said. "This is Michonne, Negan, and my son, Carl. I'm the leader. What are you doing here?"

"We've been living like this with the spirits and the dead for years now. The gates here were open, so we thought we'd take the chance. For some reason, that dev- spirit woman was just hanging around outside of your house. Anybody can explain that?" I feel like I'm living in an interrogation room with interrogations from both parties.

"She seems to have taken a liking to Carl. Why don't you drop your weapons at the door and come inside so we can talk," Dad suggested.

"Are you sure about that?" I whispered to him.

"No," he replied. "But they could be our only hope of getting out of this."

"Okay then," Brad said. "Let's go!"


	5. Dreading The Fear To Come

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Spirit Catchers and the rest start to talk. Carl starts to get interested in the group and finds a girl he absolutely adores. But while they are all trying to get to know each other, something sneaks up to them…and it is _**not**_ pretty.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoy this chapter!
> 
> :)

"Tell us," Dad said to the Spirit Catchers after we all got settled down in the living room, some of us having to bring chairs out in order for us all to fit, including Enid and Judith. "What is going on here?"

"I will tell you everything we know," Brad replied, then he started his speech or whatever.

"It started around…2 or 3 years ago when we were all trying to mind all our businesses, surviving as the dead walked, when everything…shifted. At least, that's what it felt like.

"We soon enough realized that there was spirits, demons, both good and bad. The good ones either helped or left us alone, but mostly the latter. The bad ones, well, let's just say they were trying to kill us.

"Slowly, over time, we all found each other, having lost people from both the physical dead, and the not.

"Take Jane here, for example," Brad gestured to a my age girl next to him. She was kinda pretty, having smooth, pale skin, light feathery straight brown hair, pretty eyes, the whole deal. Let's just say that if I could date her, I would. I mean, how can you refuse?

I looked at Enid to see what her reaction was, but instead saw her taking notes in her notebook again. God, this is why I love her. One of the reasons why, anyway. She is so smart.

"Jane lost her whole enire family," Brad continued snapping me out of my trance. "Some of them got bit, and some of them got killed in all kinds of other ways. Ways I would rather not explain now as they are so horrid. You have no idea what these spirits are capable of.

"Anyway, she lost pretty much everyone, but she was able to find the rest of us. She is the newest of our group.

"Over the years, we have learned a lot about these spirits. About how and why this world had shifted. We are still working on the how and the why, but we are getting somewhere. We still need a little bit of time.

"We have learned, though, that only certain people come through these walls, this veil between worlds. And it is very rare that people can only just see through them, see the monsters waiting on the other side. Only very little children and a very rare bunch of people can see through. We have only met one of these people, but she died."

"How did she die?" Enid asked.

"She died in one of the worst ways possible. She started to see too much. She just went fucking lunatic. Point is, with the people who were able to see through the veil in the normal world…well, you can just imagine what they will see in the other side." Brad sighed and shook his head slowly. "Too much. Just…_too much_."

"How did you know all people who could see more could die if you only saw one?" Dad asked hopefully.

"Most of us had only seen one, but a few of us have seen more than one. Unfortunately, it was the same fate for all of them."

"Wait. Would the little children have that?" Michonne asked, tightening her hold on Judith.

"No. Your child is safe, no matter what she sees. We know that because we have had a few children here and there and that never happened to them.

"Where the fuck are they now?" Negan asked. He was the only one sitting on the floor, baseball bat in front of him. I guess he finally found out that, like, we won't take it away or kill him or something. We won't in this situation, but maybe after…?

"They got taken away or killed by evil demons or spirits," Brad said solemnly.

"Oh," Negan said under his breath.

"How old can a child be before someone should get worried," Dad asked, quite worried already. I knew what he was referring to.

"Maybe just a little bit older than your little girl at the most. They usually grow out of it. You don't have to worry." Brad looked at Judith and waved at her. She giggled and waved back.

"I think we do," Dad whispered. I felt this sadness growing in my chest. This can't be happening.

"Why?" Jane suddenly jumped in and asked. She had her eyes intently on my Dad.

"Carl…he could see them before and we thought he was going a bit crazy, I have to admit. Then he claimed that Judith can see them too." Dad's fists tightened. Michonne noticed and put her hand on the one closest to her and he loosened them a bit.

"This was before you guys switched?" Brad asked, face going pale.

"We switched just yesterday," Dad answered.

"How long have he been seeing things beforehand?"

"About a year." Dad was definitely freaking out right now. He kept tightening and loosening his fists and he kept glancing at me every few seconds. I have to say, it's kinda getting annoying. I'm fine.

Brad raised his eyebrows in shock. "A year? The most someone has seen before that has gotten six months at the most! But unfortunately though, as far as we have researched, the more longer they have seen through the veil before they switch, the worst it gets. I'm sorry."

"Okay, just-" Dad took a deep breath, "just what are the signs of it happening?"

"Either it just hits suddenly, or it slowly groups up, driving you more crazy little by little." God, is this guy _trying_ to scare us? "But if it to go on slowly, the first signs usually are sudden flashes of the person just drifting off. People drift off all the time, but this kind is different. 

"Another sign is that you just feel sudden fear. Nothing has happened, but you still feel fear.

"And the most biggest sign of all: sudden screaming and/or convulsions. Sometimes they just scream out of random, sometimes they just start to get convulsions, or both. Let's just hope with this case, it's neither." Brad turned towards me with a sad expression. "I'm so sorry. I wish there was something we could do to help other than just being there." Maybe Brad isn't that bad after all.

"You sure there is no way?" Michonne pleaded.

"I'm sure," Brad said to her, turning back around to face everyone. "This will be very new to us all," he stated. "So why don't we all get to know each other?"

Everyone nodded and murmured in agreement. Even me. But I just nodded.

Soon enough, everyone went their own seperate ways and when I stood up, I was met with Jane. Damn. I was gonna go to my room to think this through myself, but _nooooo_, life had other plans.

"Hey," she said. "I'm sorry about the news." Sorry? What did you do pretty little angel? (Hey! Stop judgin'! I was being sarcastic! Am I…?)

Instead of saying that, I said, "It's fine. I'm used to death sentences." 'Death sentences'? _'Death sentences?!'_ Dear God, have mercy. This is not the nineteenth century! There are no 'Death sentences' anymore! Was there? Am I just freaking out for no reason? I think I am. (Hey, I told you to stop judgin'!)

"Yeah," Jane agreed. "I guess in this world that happens a lot." Oh. So I _was_ freaking out for no reason. Whatever. (-_-)

"I guess so," I replied. Then I realized that I didn't have a bandage on and I cursed myself for refusing one when Dad suggested it. Great! Now the world will end!

Yeah, your right. I think I need to take a chill pill.

"Can you show me around?" Jane asked. "Around your house, I mean. I don't want to go outside right now."

"Sure," I agreed and we started to walk around the house with me pointing out rooms. We had a bit of fun, cracking jokes, talking, acting like we've known each other for forever. So it took longer than it should have been on a normal tour.

But when I brought her upstairs, things started to get weird. And no, not weird between us. Weird as in…scary.

"This is upstairs," I said. "Which is kinda obvious as we went up the stairs, so, ya' know, upstairs." She laughed. She has a nice laugh. Definitely when she laughs at my stupid jokes.

"This is a nice house," she stated. "Doesn't look like anything creepy goes on like some houses. It's too sweet."

"Um, about that-" I started, but was interrupted by this creaking sound coming from my room, which is seemingly the most "haunted" place in this house as I have learned over time. "Great. Here we go again," I whispered to myself.

Jane heard and said, "What is it?"

"You didn't hear that?" I asked, turning towards her in confusion.

"Hear what?"

"That creaking sound from my room." I pointed towards my room so she knew where I meant.

"I didn't hear anything, but you are one of the people who can see and hear more things than normal people. Let's go check it out." She started to walk towards my room.

"What the hell are you doing?" I grabbed her arm to stop her. I have learned go try and avoid anything that is deemed creepy, so making sure none of us went into that room was a habit.

"Look," she said, shaking herself out of my hold. "I'm a Spirit Catcher. I can deal with this."

"Fine," I grumbled and followed her in my room. What? I wasn't gonna just leave her! That's rude.

We walked into the room and saw…nothing out of the ordinary.

"Well," she stated. "Nothing wrong here." She turned to leave, but stopped in her tracks. I didn't know why until I saw what she saw.

A doll. An ugly doll at that. Just standing there as if it was there the whole time and someone placed it there.

Also, I noticed the door was closed, even though I had left it open when we came inside. None of us had heard it close.

"Carl, don't move," Jane whispered. Already got that checked off my list. We both just stared at the doll, not knowing what will happen next.

Then, it started to talk.

_"You…may…not…pass. You…just…have…to…survive."_ What is going on? What does that mean?

But then…


End file.
